"I am not for leaving any business out of the entertainment
district at all," Jim Walker, co-owner of OK Bicycle Shop, 661 Dauphin St.,
said. "The council should look at a common sense (solution) and connect the two
districts."

That proposal has upset the owners of The Haberdasher and
Alabama Music Box, but some residents and business owners along that stretch of
road have objected to being a part of the district. In addition, a spokeswoman
with the Downtown Mobile Alliance said that the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile
is also in opposition.

Adding to the complications is that some bar and restaurant
owners want to be able to have the entertainment district operating during day
hours, not just at night. The Downtown Mobile Alliance, which is pushing to
promote more sidewalk café's downtown, wants the district to operate all day.

Mobile's entertainment district ordinance is the culmination
of several months of meetings with the Downtown Mobile Alliance followed up
with two public safety committee meetings at Government Plaza.

As proposed, the ordinance essentially allows patrons of
bars and restaurants to walk around on public streets and sidewalks with 16
ounce cups of alcohol purchased from an establishment within the district's
boundaries. No one is allowed to walk into a bar or restaurant with an open
container of liquor.

Restrictive map

State law approved by the lawmakers last year created the
districts, which have already been enacted in cities like Orange Beach and
Montgomery. Only Birmingham is allowed to create more than two districts.

State law also specifies the size of each district – one-half
mile by one-half mile in area, but may be irregularly shaped.

In Mobile, two districts downtown essentially represent the
two distinct areas of Dauphin Street. The northeastern district is the largest
and represents the night clubs and restaurants along Dauphin from Franklin to
Water streets and encompasses venues along Royal Street as well as hotels along
and near Government Street.

The southwestern section is smaller, but includes plenty of
bars and taverns. It does not, however, include two who want in – The Haberdasher
and Alabama Music Box.

Those omissions created a controversy earlier this year that
has yet to subside.

"I wished anyone who wanted to be a part of it would be a
part of it," Bill Monahan, owner of T.P. Crockmiers and co-owner of Grand
Central – both taverns located along Dauphin Street, said.

The Haberdasher/Music Box omissions resulted from feedback
representatives with the Downtown Mobile Alliance said they got regarding the
map. Some business owners and residents in the area of Dauphin between Cedar
and Franklin streets do not want to be included, alliance representatives have
said.

In addition, the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile opposes the
boundaries incorporating the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
An archdiocese representative did not return a call for comment.

The relationship between the Music Box and some of the
surrounding property owners has been sketchy over the years, sparking some
tavern and restaurant owners to speculate that the omission was political.

Jeffrey and Patsy Jordan filed a lawsuit in 2011 seeking a court order to
shut down the Music Box or force it to limit the noise. The couple lives next
to the music venue.

A judge has since restricted the Music Box's operational hours to only five
extensions of its closing time each month; otherwise the Music Box must close
at midnight during the work week and 2:30 a.m. on weekends.

Edward Miller, an attorney with Jones Walker's downtown Mobile office,
described the Music Box as a "surly and cantankerous member" of the downtown
business scene, but added that downtown businesses are a "tight-knit community"
with a "we're in this together" mentality.

"Isolating those two establishments does not appear to further any
legitimate public interest," Miller said in a three-page letter he recently
sent to the City Council and the alliance.

Another concern others have raised is the potentially odd situation of
having visitors dump alcohol out of the cups allowed within the entertainment
district whenever they walk along Dauphin between Franklin and Cedar streets.

"We don't need to confuse our visitors," said the Bicycle Shop's Walker. "They
are very kind to us to come here in the first place. Then we'll confuse our
tourism trade? It doesn't make any sense."

Hunter has said signage will designate the boundaries between the two
districts and that the alliance will handle some of the garbage collection of
extra paper cups.

She also doesn't anticipate strict enforcement against visitors carrying a
cup of alcohol between the two districts, much like what occurs during the
monthly Art Walk events and Mardi Gras.

"I don't think that will be much of a problem," Hunter said. "I don't see
the ABC (enforcers) sitting on the corner waiting for people to do that. If
someone is misbehaving, it's certainly a tool for police to use."

Hunter has also repeatedly said the alliance did not draw the map, but that
those affect within the districts played a key part in it.

Walker, who has been a part of the Dauphin Street scene since the 1980s,
said "there is no way" any of the bar and tavern owners downtown pushed for any
maps excluding The Haberdasher and Alabama Music Box.

"We have 50 residential units in those blocks surrounding the area and
multiple businesses," Hunter said, noting that Hoffman Furniture and other
property owners within the area oppose the district. "The bottom line is that
those night spots are important to the development of downtown but they are not
more important than the other businesses and the residential development that
needs to happen downtown. You have to have balance."

Carson Kennedy, a resident along St. Francis Street about one block from the
Music Box, said he can name just as many residents who live nearby that don't
have any problems with having the district nearby.

"It's sort of clearly unfair to the businesses there now operating," Kennedy
said. "I think it's wasting an opportunity to connect it up. It seems patently
ridiculous to me."

Restrictive hours

The boundary lines are not the only concerns about restrictions affected
establishments have about the proposed districts. Limited hours are also a worry.

David Rasp, owner of two downtown establishments – Heroes Sports Bar &
Grille and The Royal Scam – said the proposed district's hours from 6:30 p.m.
to 2:30 a.m. provides advantages for the late-night bars while potentially
hurting restaurants.

Others agree.

"I would certainly like to see it go all day," Monahan said. "If we're going
to do it, let's open it up and do it."

"Whatever is approved by the City Council, we'd like to make sure the Police
Department has the resources to enforce it," Mayor Sam Jones said. "Administratively,
we did not set the limited hours. We were asked to reduce the administrative cost
to public safety. We have done so.

City spokeswoman Barbara Drummond
said the limited hours will keep the projected police costs to $686,000, which
includes seven additional officers every night for an eight-hour period. The
cost also includes a police cruiser, prisoner transport vehicle, skybox and the
overtime costs that will be needed until additional officers are hired and
trained.

The city's administration and
Downtown Alliance disagree on the restricted hours.

Hunter said her organization's
preference is to include so-called "Happy Hour," which would require the
district's hours to be extended to earlier in the afternoon.

"We sort of know that if we want to
encourage a great happy hour scene, that it should start (before) 6:30 p.m.,"
Hunter said.

Hunter is also advocating for less
restrictions on sidewalk cafes, which serve alcohol to patrons seated outdoors.
Technically, that is not allowed by law and Hunter would prefer that cafes be
allowed to serve alcohol in glassware, not paper cups.

More time needed?

Initially, the council was on a
fast-track to get the district approved with a deadline by Mardi Gras. But with
the annual Carnival already past, is there a rush to get it approved?

"I think they need to slow it down and come up with a better strategy," said Naude Gouws, owner of The Haberdasher.

Councilman William Carroll, who
represents the downtown area, said he anticipates it will go for a vote Tuesday.
Councilman Fred Richardson, who chaired the public safety committee, also said
he expects a vote to come.

Rasp, though, said the city should
take more time to get the district "right." He said there are too many
question-marks with boundaries, hours and other issues associated with it.

"Since the time frame for the
entertainment district was clearly geared toward having something in place by
Mardi Gras, and since we are seeing proposals that are controversial, I don't
see the rush at this point," Rasp said. "I don't see any venues downtown
pushing to have this happen with all these questions."

Hunter believes the ordinance will
be approved, although there are some questions as to when the paper cups
brandishing the "LODA" logo will be manufactured and distributed. Individual
bars could also be allowed to distribute cups with their establishment's logo
on it.

"Who knows what the final ordinance
will look at exactly," Hunter said.

That's all the more reason for the
council to wait before implementing it, Rasp said. Hunter, though, said the
ordinance can be amended at any time and it has a sunset date of one year after
its implemented.

"It's very controversial about
these boundaries," Rasp said. "There seems to be a disconnect between the boundaries
as they are being proposed and the intentions of the majority of stakeholders.
I think they should slow down and make sure everyone is properly represented in
this."